Saturday Morning Grail War
by Ol'Velsper
Summary: Because if good emerged victorious and evil were decisively vanquished, the plot wouldn't continue onwards into a new season.
1. Chapter 1

**Saturday Morning Grail War**  
><em><br>Pilot - The Last Battalion_

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><p><em>1945. Tokyo, Japan.<em>

Smoke choked the skyline of Tokyo. In the distance, ambulance sirens and flashing lights could be seen as parts of the city burned. A buzzing nest of angry planes buzzed through the skies, exiting and entering a truly massive zeppelin to refuel and rearm. Several more blimps rained destruction down upon the city, clearly intending to wipe Tokyo off the face of the earth.

The monetary damage? In the millions.

The loss in life?

Incalculable.

A Junkers Ju-87, showing significant wear on its hull, dove out beneath a particularly thick cloud of ash. The propeller on it chugged and roared angrily as it defied the world by staying in the skies. It wouldn't fall until it took out its target.

The dive bomber's targets, two solitary figures at the end of a long stretch of a main thoroughfare, looked utterly bored as they stared up into the skies. As they were practically the victors of the Holy Grail War, Saber and his master were utterly indifferent to the Nazi plane descending on them.

"Saber, end this farce." Anita Edelfelt's eyes were lidded, bags beneath them adding years to her appearance. Her dress limpidly hung off her frame as she pointed up at the bomber coming for her. "I just...I just want this to end."

Their surroundings, filled with overturned cars and empty, desolate buildings only underscored the cost that had been paid to take down Lancer. The battle with Lancer had cost the people everything, hadn't it?

Saber, keenly aware of the loss as well, grimly set his expression. The plane was stared down at like the gnat it was. He reached to his side, armored gauntlets clasped around the hilt of the blade he wore at his side.

The divebomber roared down the empty streets, its echoes bouncing and gaining increasing ferocity.

The knight class Hero grinned, but it was a sharkish thing, filled with an eagerness to end a life. His Master could only watch with quiet desolation as her noble ally had been brought down so low by the War, but she couldn't even raise a voice in protest. It wasn't fair to voice them after everything she had done to him, now was it?

The plane began to rain death upon the duo. Moving like quicksilver, Saber positioned himself between the instruments and his Master, making Anita flinch and briefly stare at Saber in shock and wonder. Her brief moment of euphoria vanished when she saw the wild, animalistic gleam in the man's eyes as he swung his blade in front of him in a dazzling dance, sending the bullets flying out of range.

Anita merely glanced down as Saber's mad laughter carried him further away from his Master. His speed only increased further as the divebomber drew closer, trying to get past the merciless Hero to try and gun down the weaker half of the team. Not eager enough to meet her maker yet, Anita Edelfelt used the brief window bought by her mad Servant to rush behind cover.

Saber laughed, pitch of voice and actions like a loon as he threw himself up into the skies. The Junkers attempted to ascend, but the curled up knight was as unstoppable as a wrecking ball. His gleaming armor, stained with all manner of fluids, punched through the hull of the plane as he tore into it with savage fury.

Anita Edelfelt ran out behind her cover, hand raised to her mouth in horror as the plane and her Servant went crashing into the side of a building.

"Saber!" She screamed, heart leaping to her throat as she saw the building begin to collapse in on the divebomber. Smoke and flame belched out of the side of the building that the plane had collided up against.

Anita hitched up her long skirts to race after them, but...

A gunshot rang out.

"Now, now, fraulein. I don't think your lover requires a wet nurse at his age, ya?"

A vile, hateful voice spoke up even as Anita collapsed, clutching at her ruined leg. Even as her wound freely bled, she still had enough force of will to cast all of her loathing towards the jolly looking man who was idly twirling his firearm and approaching her.

"Gordo!" Anita's expression turned animalistic. "This was never meant to involve these people!"

Clad in the same impeccably white uniform he had been wearing for most of the war, which managed to defy all expectations and remain clean even in this firestorm, Gordo Yggdramillenia offered her a gentile smile.

"It's a war, fraulein." Gordo chuckled. "Acceptable losses are to be expected, no? Didn't you agree to this?"

Anita flinched. Maybe at some point, but-

"Well, there is no need to worry." Gordo leveled his service arm up towards her forehead. He had a diabolic cast to his eyes, reflected in the flames in the building behind them. "I'll take good care of Siegfried for you."

"You monster..."

"It was not I who split him in twain, fraulein."

One last shot rang out.

* * *

><p><em>Fuyuki, Japan.<em>

The bowstring of an arrow twanged.

Another zeppelin went down in flames, crashing into the bay with a titanic crash.

"Good show, old chap." Hiroto Tohsaka mused, lowering his binoculars. His mustache twitched as mild dismay appeared on his face. "Well, now that's hardly sporting."

Twenty more zeppelins were approaching in the distance.

Besides him, Odysseus peered down the side of Mt. Enzou. His sharp eyes could pick up multiple metal boxes - tanks, was it?- moving up the side of the mountain. The man shifted his leather tunic slightly as he drew another arrow from his quiver.

"Any luck, madam?" The Heroic Spirit called behind them. "We need to put a stop to this debacle before it spreads out of control."

The flighty, but strangely insightful foreigner that Odysseus and Hiroto had run into half a week ago looked up from the spell circle she was sitting cross legged within. Hiroto briefly glanced back, but immediately turned red and looked away from the woman's vulgar way of sitting. "No." The amnesiac magus pointed out. "I can't figure out what Lancer's spear did to the ritual circles, but the energy is spiralling out of control."

"It's most likely reached Tokyo at this point, Master." Odysseus pointed out. "And we haven't heard a word from that Einzbern woman in hours. We either have to destroy the circle now, or risk letting it fall into their hands."

Hiroto's grip on the radio Anita had given him tightened. It was simply unbelievable that the Master of Lancer had so thoroughly played them all. The mere thought of him having hidden away this army with the help of Caster was ridiculous.

"It isn't fair, is it?" The nameless magus that Hiroto had run into spoke up. When the man glanced back at her, a sympathetic look was on her face. "They ruined this, right?"

"It...it was supposed to be more than this." Hiroto weakly replied, head lowered as he mumbled his pathetic response. "The power of the Grail shouldn't be misused for such petty worldly affairs. It was going to be for something..."

Grander.

"Greater men have fought for such petty affairs." Odysseus pointed out, smiling just a touch bitterly.

Hiroto winced, recognizing what his Servant hinted towards. "My apologies." He ducked his head. "I just don't..."

"Not everyone need love their country."

"My government persecuted-"

"I'll handle these ruffians up here." Odysseus cut Hiroto off. When the man gave him a look of alarm, the Hero merely smiled. "No harm. I understand you as well as you do I. Take the girl and go to the Grand Grail. Shut it down before they get down there, alright?"

Hiroto briefly considered the radio.

There was no time left.

He hooked the device onto his belt and gave Odysseus a firm nod, drawing a smile from the Archer. Taking the foreign woman's hand in his, both of them rushed for the secret entrance to the Greater Grail hidden within Ryuudou Temple.

Odysseus sighed as he glanced up at the army that both descending and ascending to meet him.

"Bah, what happened to turning men into pigs?" The man mumbled in annoyance. Pigs at least had the decency to die easily. Even if it was rather troubling to find out the identity of such after the fact. "Concealing an army as a bottle of mosquitoes is just plain underhanded, Circe."

He drew back his bow towards another zeppelin.

Down below, the bellows of the transmogrified Panzer IV - nightmareish blends of steel, gunpowder, and a rhinoceros, could be heard as they trampled up the side of the mountains. Detonations followed in their wake.

Truly, Circe lived to make his life more difficult, didn't she?

* * *

><p>The twisting path to the Greater Grail was more dangerous than ever. The years hadn't been kind to the spiraling steps that led down to the grail. If Hiroto was more of a betting man, he'd put himself in a fisticuffs match against the Bartholomei heir on them not lasting the next century.<p>

Not that it'd probably last more than ten minutes with conditions as they were. Hiroto and his sidekick were practically thrown from the small footpath as the entire chamber was rocked by explosions from above. The heir of the Tohsaka family had to take his comely assistant into his arm and practically bound down long paths of the platform as they gave up the ghost and crumbled down into the pit below them.

Hiroto's homburg fluttered off into the darkness.

"Mister Tohsaka!" The blonde shrieked in terror, burying her head into the crook of his neck. Hiroto didn't let the pleasing, if entirely too distracting for this situation, sensation divert his attention though. With a snap of his wrist, he sent a rapidly uncoiling length of gold up in the direction his hat had flown towards.

The chamber was briefly lit up.

Hiroto's entire body was tugged upwards, arresting his motion.

His foreigner friend yelped as she nearly fell out of Hiroto's grasp, but a grip of sheer desperation kept her from letting go of the Tohsaka. Both magi slowly descended towards the bottom of the Greater Grail chamber, carried aloft by Hiroto's hat. The grey cap had swollen up, now large enough that it could easily support the weight of both of them.

They leisurely descended the rest of the way.

"Y-you saved us!"

"Not so, dear." Hiroto's felt his lips curl disapprovingly as he gazed downwards. Leon Yggdramillenia, former Master of Caster, calmly stood between them and the Greater Grail. "I think we still have one last challenge to get through."

"Sir..." The blonde curled up against his side fearfully as she gazed down at the stoic man. Despite the sheer white uniform he was wearing, it only served to make the shadows cast around him grown even deeper in contrast. Something about the way the shadows curled beneath him... "Something is wrong." She whispered.

"Quite." Hiroto guided them with minor gusts of wind towards Lion. "What a dreadful day to forget my other Mystic Codes." He gustily complained, eyes gleaming dangerously. "Well, I suppose we'll see who wins this round this time."

The second in command of the Last Battalion descended on the two magi.

* * *

><p>Massive zeppelins, even as they trailed fire from the ragged cuts in the sides of their cloth, rained fire down upon the top of Mt. Enzou. The earth itself cracked and heaved upwards as the detonations went off perfectly. A massive wound in the very earth itself was revealed, with an massive tower of stone standing in the very center.<p>

The pilots of the intact zeppelins, which maneuvered around their fellows collapsing dirigibles, launched hooks down into the pit that was revealed. If any of them noticed the black tar that was seeping out from where the hooks pierced the stone construct, they either didn't care or intentionally looked away.

Within a few hours, the Great Grail was leaving Japanese airspace.

* * *

><p><em>2007. London, England.<em>

A set of steely eyes stared at the magus across the table over a pair of dark sunglasses. A cigarette, thick but unlit, rolled from one side to the other of the man's hand as he nodded appreciatively at a tightly clothed figure of the waitress serving their drinks. The waitress gave him a wan, slightly fearful smile. Of course, the boy across from him could be made of stone for all the reaction he had to the waitress's flirty look.

Kairi Shishigou really hated jackasses like these. They were practically drowning in poon and they didn't do a single thing to deserve it. It was practically criminal.

"Times up. Show your hand." He growled at the puny magus across from him. When the man flinched at his tone, he merely leaned towards the young boy. He flexed, his rippling muscles bulging beneath the leather of his jacket. "Now, yes?"

The magus nervously nodded.

So he was going to rip this asshole off - goddamned useless Lothario.

It was the only way to balance the universal karma!

Really!

* * *

><p>Kairi grinned, counting his money. With his head down, he missed seeing an elderly woman pause outside her door, stare out at him, and promptly slam the door shut as she turned back inside. The feel of the universal karma flows reorienting around him positively were too much of a thrill for him to really care what people thought.<p>

If the universal karma flows looked like a few thousand dollar bills, more power to him, right?

You can't spend karma in this life after all.

The towering redhead casually entered an alleyway, moving towards a shortcut back to his loft. Maybe if he was lucky, he could run into Miss Luviagelita's daily workout? Well, only if her thrice damned butler didn't close the curtains.

He really needed to upgrade that sparrow's skull to a better one soon.

Would probably be too hard to conceal an owl up there, wouldn't it?

Still, it might be worth it...

A goofy grin cracked his stoic demeanor, looking positively ghastly on his face.

"Hee-hee-hee..."

His brief little fantasy about Elina Luviagelita's co-ed body was banished as a particular twirp appeared in front of him.

"H-hey!" The magus from the bar - Manou? Makiri? Mayoi? Something that slipped the large man's mind - shouted in a trembling voice. "Give me that back!" He angrily roared, waving his arms in front of him.

Kairi blinked. "These? I like these guys, though. Me and them have become like- soulbrothers, man." He quirked his head, spreading the bills in front of him like a fan. "Soulbrothers don't part." The man dismissively sniffed at the puny little kid in front of him.

"T-that is..."

"Possession is nine tenths of the law, kid." Kairi lightly fanned himself with the money, eyes half lidded. "Besides, you wanted to show off and say you beat me, right?"

The magus flinched.

"Well, this is the counterbalance." Kairi clicked his tongue at the boy. "Now get the hell out of my face, kid. I'm missing prime time here. Her little sister is going to get home soon and then it's Bitch Quest: 2007 for the rest of the night."

No happy time for lil Kairi then.

Kairi raised an eyebrow as the magus in front of him growled. The air began to fill with tension as magic began to gather.

"Boy..." The older of the two magi warned, teeth flashed in a grim smile. "You might not want to go down this route. Especially for paper route money."

Whatever the boy might have done next was lost to the ages.

"Argh!"

The entire world went bloody for the man. His towering frame suddenly collapsed up against the side of the alleyway, sending bills fluttering to and fro. Kairi groaned, fighting back the urge to bellow as he clutched at his hand and thrashed in agony while the smell of burning flesh filled the alley.

He rolled onto his back, sightlessly staring up at the sky.

Moments later, a massive airship, which held aloft by massive balloons, moved across the skies above. Its mass was enough to shadow London completely as it swept past the city. Countless people quickly threw up their hands in recognition, sending out cries of entreaty towards the flying behemoth. Their desperate wishes, of course, were ignored.

It had come here for only a select few.

The small magus, uncaring about what just had happened, quickly moved to secure his allowance.

Forget wish granting vessels, he wasn't going to be getting a lectured by that shrew that called itself his mother!

"Hah, sucks to be you, dickwad." The boy kicked Kairi in the side, making the man groan in renewed pain. He glanced down at the mark on the back of the giant man's hand. "Hope you die first in the Holy Grail War."

With that last curse, he quickly ran away.

Kairi was left staring up at the blue skies above. His glasses, having fallen off his face, revealed his calm gaze.

"Well, fuck." He mused, lip quirking in a frown. "I'm going to have to find one of those goddamned fire runes now."

Kairi certainly wasn't going to be leaving his corpse around for one of his friends to figuratively fuck over when he was dead. Or perhaps literally, if Jessica was feeling especially creepy that day.

Goddamnit, why'd he have to choose to be a necromancer again?

Why'd he think it'd attract chicks?

* * *

><p>The airship <em>Falcon<em>, continued on its endless voyage. Deep inside its cargo hold, a chamber composed of pulsing meat, sat the Grand Grail. With its mark on its chosen champions in London, the ancient device sent another pulse of prana surging through the countless nerves racing from the towering black tower throughout the airship.

Propellers twisted and excess energy was vented as the ship headed in the direction of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Far below, the massive blast zone that had once contained most of central Europe stretched out below the Last Battalion's final weapon. A twisting plum of dark smoke was left in the airship's wake as it headed to the east.


	2. Chapter 2

Type Moon, cures all fungal infections, just one application! Type Moon is wholly owned and operated by Type Moon (tm). All additional references belong to their respective companies.

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><p>01 - Necromancer<p>

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><p><em>It didn't matter what I did, the marks on the back of my hand refused to leave.<em>

_So, this is what it's like to be humanity's bitch._

_Oh sure, those religious nut jobs said that the stigmata was something good and right. But they weren't the ones that were making a 'grand, noble sacrifice' for the 'benefit of all who still lived'. That was just the party line. Everyone with one of these marks were logs for the blast furnace of the Falcon._

_Once you got one of these, you were hunted down and slaughtered like a pig, then turned into fuel for that juggernaut that flies over our heads. Everyone that's tried to fight, run, or hide lose in the end. Gotta hand it to those Yggs, they're efficient little bastards._

_There's even rumors that they got the blessings of the One._

_Anyway, I heard that you get to choose the way you go out if you surrender. If you don't democracy kicks in at the worst possible time. I guess ratings improve if the viewers at home get to decide._

_Not that I know, I never watch that trash. I was born with a delicate soul, swear on my mama._

_Now then, let's see if I can squirm out of my obligation towards mankind. It really wouldn't work out. I'm not really the messiah-type, y'know? My schedule is too packed for me to pencil in burning for eternity too._

* * *

><p>Countless people milled about the giant, box-like airships like worker ants. They pulled out pipes and tubes of various colors, connecting ship to the fuel pipes underground. While the ship refueled, several more workers joined in, pulling along a large-leather sack over.<p>

Their job completed, the ants disassembled the tubing and scurried over to the next giant.

The powerful engine on the ship sputtered to life. Rapid beats, like the gibbering of a mad god echoed throughout the massive steel coffin created to seal it away. Excess flame spewed forth from the heart of the engine, harmlessly splashing against the stone ground. While this happened, smoke billowed out.

Like a living snake, it twisted itself into the sac, and swiftly began to fill it up as it made its nest.

The entire machine began to quake - it seemed to be trying to tear itself apart at the seams.

As fuel was burnt away in an excess of wealth, the world finally decided that the proper price had been paid. With a final groan, the massive machine took to the air, fighting for every inch as it clawed its way up to the skies. Its tottering ascent was reminscient of a toddler's first steps, but it eventually straightened itself out.

The moment it did, massive amounts of fuel were voraciously devoured. Flame and smoke erupted out of the airship's exhaust vents as it shot forwards.

A grungy looking city, composed of glass, steel, and concrete was left behind. It crossed golden wastelands. Dried out trees, looking more like ash than actual plants, stubbornly tried to grow in this land. Endless seas of sand, piling upwards in massive dunes, flew past them in blurs of gold and silver.

Beyond the city and desert, large metal towers stuck out along this path. Machines within, set to dig up the oil beneath the sands, endlessly churned. Small groups of airships clustered around these drills, and even more at the refinery at the center of the largest cluster of drills.

Despite variations on their designs, all the airships shared one common trait: a twisted, broken down tree somewhere on the vessel.

Once the airship was out of friendly air space, it's flames began to burn even more rapidly, speeding it up more.

Within the depths of the ship, a figure that had been leaning on an ornate seat of metal opened his eyes. The gears and pounding pistons of the engines behind him were summarily ignored. Only the cracked black and white monitor in front of him mattered. It showed an image of the world, and an island several thousand miles away was glowing on the display.

The green irises, slitted like a reptile, contracted as the gray haired man felt his heart begin to excitedly beat within his chest.

A nearby display chimed and automatically opened several more vents as the temperature in the room sky rocketed. Outside, the ship's flames burned blue as the airborn coffin gained even greater speed.

* * *

><p>Hiroto Tohsaka straightened his maroon suit, dusting it off of imaginary lint. The cufflinks, almost having fallen off in melee, were tightened. A summoned breeze helped him coif his hair, the lines of grey on it an inescapable sign of his age.<p>

He reached up and smartly rapped on the wooden door in front of him with his glove encased hand. The sensation of eyes watching him from every angle merely made him frown, but the polite, high pitched girlish call behind the door made him nervously begin to twist the edge of his mustache.

Moments later, the door opened, revealing a dark skinned girl standing in what appeared to be a hastily thrown on dress.

"Long time no see, Hiroto." She glanced behind him, laughing at what she saw. "You're as fit as ever."

Hiroto returned her greeting, ignoring the three bodies behind him.

The multitude of holes through their bodies, some the of size of his fist, would eventually heal up. It was in the nature of this realm, nothing ever stayed the same here.

"Come in. Oh, and leave the umbrella at the entrance, okay?"

Of course, what kind of gentleman carries an umbrella into a home?

* * *

><p>Kairi sometimes wished that Clocktower did something about the mural at the entrance to the piers.<p>

A friend of his had recently told him that the next shipment of people would arrive today.

A nice, thick fog rolled out from the sea just as he walked past the mural and entered the area properly.

Like the racist depiction on the mural Kairi passed, this fog was Clocktower's way of greeting the people that were being brought here from the New World. The mundane greeting depicted, amongst other things, animalistic tribals from a dark hole in the wall, powerful and kind white men, and blatant lies about their future job prospects. Overall, it was sad, but not very dangerous.

The magical equivalent of the mural was a deathtrap. Or maybe some kind of pyramid scheme.

Kairi spent a few moments groping around in the fog. He decided to let the fog work with him when he found himself unable to find the auction market

The redhead taking his protective glasses off.

"I hate having to do this." Kairi said, feeling the fog begin to affect his magic circuits through his eyes. It really, really hurt if you weren't ready for it. The sudden punch to your system basically weakened you.

He really needed to get a map.

Now that the curse was in his system, the fog began to affect him. Kairi felt a bit faint; with a bit of a headache to spice it. A throbbing started behind his left eye. Before it could get worse, Kairi had completed following the silent instructions given to him by the curse.

A large, shadowy factory appeared within the fog.

Fortunately, he didn't have to follow the pattern to its conclusion.

"It's like hunting foxes with tanks." Kairi said, putting on his glasses. The curse broke as soon as the treated sunglasses shielded his view from the magical fog. He could've also triggered his circuits to break the curse, but there was no need to show off.

It was just a simple curse to capture the untrained.

Now that he wasn't under the curse, Kairi headed towards the gate leading towards his destination. The one that the bedazzled people would enter would lead to a cage and a questionable end.

The fog vanished, revealing the true docks.

Unlike before, these docks were full of merchants and goods. Of course, there was only one kind of good for sale...

A foreigner screamed out something in a language Kairi couldn't quite grasp, thrashing and hollering in the grasp of two sailors which practically defined the word 'goon'.

...Like that one.

In a frenzy, the man attempted to bite through the poor sailors' arms. While normally that somewhat reasonable idea, it wasn't going to help the foreigner this time.

Their eyes were dead, the sailor's expressions were slack. They weren't humans anymore. The two of them were just pathetic creatures of meat and bone, only kept alive by whatever magical programming had replaced their ability to think.

There were plenty of nasty side effects that started cropping up if you kept a living creature under too long.

That's why spirits were better long term servants. You could control them as for as long as you wanted, and no real damage was done to the spirit.

But if you were abusive, you had to make sure to never let up on control. The second you did, well...

Spirits had long memories.

Oh, it seemed that the foreign slave had gained a second wind. But instead of running away, he was desperately pointing towards in the direction of the Grindery.

"Huh, interesting." While Kairi's new friend had struggled enough to slow down his minders, a defeated looking slave had been lead into the infamous cannery in the back of the auction site. The building, standing tall above the rest, was how the land's Lord got a final use out of slaves.

If they didn't sell as 'humans', he'd sell them as 'products'.

Kairi frowned, his eyes following as a flood of intangible souls blasted out of the Grinder when the door opened. Annoyingly enough, the spirits were as deranged as a ghost could be without collapsing into a shapeless curse.

Someone was going to be having a bad day.

And he was going to miss a few easy jobs.

Then again, Kairi had only come to the city because of this site. The barbaric way that the unwanted slaves were killed, and the butchering of their earthly remains was a very simple, easily repeated formula that created very strong, hateful ghosts.

Curiously enough, the primary product sold here were regents for necromancers.

Wasn't capitalism great?

Kairi's newly revealed necromancer friend began to zealously fight his handlers. The guy was smart enough to instinctively know he wasn't going to be relaxing anytime soon if he died. Most importantly, Kairi knew the same.

Necromancer souls were the worst.

Someone with the gift for necromancy would rally the rest if it turned hateful. The last thing Kairi needed on his conscious was to allow an uprising of the undead. He already had to deal with the fact that his steady paychecks were the result of this place.

"Oh, hey!" Kairi called out, stopping the meat sacks in their tracks. "I want to look at that slave."  
>The zombies began to shuffle towards him now that the magic words had been spoken.<p>

"Mmph?" One of the sailors moaned, drooled escaping from the side of his mouth. Kairi assumed the way the sailor's eyes were rolling in his head seemed to be communicating something to him.

Kairi activated his circuits, feeling the pulses in the meat sack's body. Ah, it was some sort of morse code, that was clever.  
>"No," Kairi shook his head, ignoring the way the man was desperately waving his arms towards him. He reached into his pocket and drew out a cigarette. "I don't really care about his circuit count. Tell me what he knows."<p>

"Uuh?"

"It doesn't matter if he knows mathematics. I don't need any of that for my magecraft." The large man spread his hands. A thought let him ignite the cigarette in his mouth, causing the metal within it to glimmer. "This is all I need - simple addition. How much is he?"

It was easy to conceal the thick needle inside his cigarette. The meat sacks were too long gone, and the auction site's Lord wasn't even directly controlling these two.

"Aaah?"

"... that's pretty cheap, huh." Kairi mused, pretending to second guess the offer. "Does he do any tricks?" He glanced over at the man, locking eyes with the slave. Kairi found understanding there.

"...mph."

The Command Seals on his arm pulsed. Time was running out.

"Don't want him." Kairi finally declined, and walked away. He flicked his cigarette back, making it land before the slave.

If he wanted to live so badly, he could just save himself. Just like his teacher had taken care of herself several years ago.

Or kill himself before he went mad.

* * *

><p>Kairi's eyes scanned through the crowd. He was looking for a specific market stalls at the moment. Their owners sometimes greeted him. Sometimes they didn't. It wasn't any skin off his nose, most of these people were acquaintances.<p>

"Kairi-kun, what's wrong? For once, it doesn't seem like you're wandering around with your head up your ass." Takano, an oriental woman, called out to him. She was one of those barbarian-types from over in Asia, third generation. Kind of messed up she was working at one of these places, but what could you do?

We all need money.

And she was the one that he had been meaning to find.

"Not helping you meet quota." Kairi replied, sounding bored.

"Who says I wanted to talk to you about that?!"

"Don't feel like playing the hot and cold game today either, thanks. I lose that one every time we play."

Takano frowned, shaking her head. "You're incorrigible, but I still am wondering why you're here. You couldn't of run out of materials already." She said, leaning forwards.

It was a totally manufactured attitude, but it was pretty cute.

Who knew maniacs could be adorable?

"I'm disturbed you're keeping track of my purchases that well."

"Eh, gotta know when to show you all of my good stuff." And wasn't that statement just positively dripping with implications. "So, if you're not here for me..."

"And I'm not."

"Going to see Teene, huh?" Takano sounded a bit displeased, making him shrug. Takano wasn't the boss of him.

Kairi wasn't stupid enough to say it, but he could very well think it hard enough.

Maybe some day it'd get him somewhere. Somewhere far away . He'd just have to get the information that he needed from her.

"Little redskin hasn't come out of her hole in a while. I think she might have died." She smiled.

Kairi smirked at the attitude. He wondered just how much Clocktower hated the necromancer's master. She had pretty big ones for setting up her workshop next to their auction site.

"Don't sound so cheerful," Kairi wiggled his fingers. "Knowing her, she'd just get stronger in death." That girl was stupidly broken that way. "Then where would we all be?"

"Our scalps would probably be up on her walls." Takano laughed, unashamed with her statement.

"Well, I've that's more than my recommended dose of racism for the day, Takano."

"Thought you always had time for more."

"Don't you know? That's only for the ironic kind."

Kairi patted his jeans, reaching ino it and handing her a small box without looking. She blushed a little bit as her fingers came in contact with his, but he shot down that idea before it even began to form.

"Not for you."

"Y-you... jer-" Yet her expression fell when she saw the stigmata on the back of his hand. It was rather comical to see that look of horror on her face. Kairi wondered if his face had been the same when he saw the Command Seals. "- why didn't you do this sooner, Kairi."

"If something happens, tell her that I love her." Kairi said with a wave, moving towards the back of the market. "Later, Takano."

"Ah. I'll tell her." Takano listlessly replied, holding onto the box. "Yeah, later."

* * *

><p>It was always such a pain for Kairi to make his way through his master's boundary field. Expensive as well.<p>

He lowered the smoking barrel of his shotgun, and stepped over the mummified head in his path. The limp, noodley body spastically twitching to his side was ignored as he touched the doorknob ahead of him.

Like that, the barrier fell, taking with them the dreamlands he had been wandering through. The clouds in the skies lost their technicolor hues, the land oriented itself beneath his feet, and the horrors he had barely made his way past were restored and set back to their patrols.

It was going to be such a hassle to make his way back through them again.

Kairi sheathed the sawed off shotgun onto the leather harness hanging off his back, feeling a set of eyes focus on him. The pressure vanished, and the wooden fangs that had been swiftly rising up to bite his hand off retracted back into the door. Seemed she was alright with seeing him today, how lovely.

Bone dust clung to the bronze knob, flaking off his hand as he turned the knob. Before he stepped through the open door, he shook his hand free of the remainder of the dust. The scent of incense filled his lungs as he entered the dim workshop.

Soft leather squished beneath his feet. Feeling it tense beneath him, Kairi sighed and began to remove his boots. The ground smoothed itself out once he set his combat boots outside, next to leather riding boots.

"Someone's here?" Kairi asked, glancing up as he closed the door shut. His question was to the skull of an animal he wasn't familiar with growled an assent, its empty eyes animated by two fey-like spheres of light which danced within it.

Moving deeper within the workshop, he passed several bookcases and shelves. The petrified wood they were carved from were still aromatic, making this portion of his master's shop smell like the woods after a fresh rain.

Briefly, he saw a pair of eyes within the knothole of a rather misshapen bookcase. The animal chittered at him.

Kairi continued moving.

The fresh scents of the forest gave way to a more earthy smell.

Both the leather floor and ceiling were gone here, revealing dark grey soil and a bright sun high above. Golden plant stalks grew in clusters throughout the area, making it annoying for him to navigate without accidentally damaging any of it. Plus the loose earth got in between his toes as Kairi made his way towards a cluster of work benches.

His eyes roved around, taking in several hand held totems and half done cloth charms with no little amount of greed.

A miserable, agonized looking man gazed up from its workbench.

The spirit, gaunt in appearance, set down the dark steel chisel he was manipulating to chip at a colorful gemstone. His eyes showed visible pain, silently shaking his head at Kairi.

"Hmph, like I need your warning, first. I'm not an idiot like you. 'Look, but don't touch.'" Kairi said, sneering a little.

The spirit briefly flared red. Its expression was murderous, but the manacle that was floating along where its 'ankle' stood glowed. A forgetful expression crossed the ghost's face as it glanced around.

"Get back to work." Kairi reminded his senior. He eyed the dozens of totems on a table behind the man. "Maybe she'll let you rest when you're done."

Looking hopeful again, the young man returned to carving the gemstone.

Kairi's ear perked up as he heard a laugh deeper inside the workshop. His master was entertaining a guest? Well, that was a new one for him.

He headed in deeper.

* * *

><p>Two figures, who looked like they had been in the middle of conversation, turned towards him.<p>

"Well, look who's not a slob today." Teene said. The dark skinned native American girl before him smiled. ""And actually taking off your shoes?" She commented as he did so, grimacing as his socks came in contact with the throbbing leather that composed the interior of the magus' workshop. "My, you must want something."

"Of course not, Master." Kairi responded. "Who's Mr. Mustache?"

"He's my lover." Teene casually replied, drawing a startled cry from the rather worn looking man that was sharing the girl's favorite rug. Her light eyes focused on him intensely, and the young girl smirked devilishly. "Why, jealous?"

"M-my good lady," The japanese man stuttered, "You may be as lovely as a wildflower, but I am a happily married ma-"

"Who'd want a wicked hag like you?" Kairi summed up with a laugh. Teene narrowed her eyes at him. The leather wall next to his face suddenly lashed out, a fist forming out of the matter to slam into his chin. He stumbled back two steps. "Okay, I deserved that." The man grumbled, and lightly shook his head.

The Japanese man simply raised his hands, surrendering as well.

Teene snorted, pointing Kairi to a spot on the grimmest looking of the rugs. She took a moment to compose herself before speaking up, gesturing at the foreigner with a lazy gesture of her delicate hand. "He's Hiroto Tohsaka."

The empty patch of ground in between all three rumbled, and a small onyx table rose. At the center of the table stood a bronze pot, its bottom glowing red with contact with the table. Teene reached behind her, taking out a lumpy looking and chipped ceramic bowl for herself.

Kairi blushed, and coughed as he looked away as she happily served herself a drink. Hiroto merely raised an eyebrow, silently taking in the duo.

"Kairi Shishigou." He introduced himself.

Still, what a trio they made. It was practically a joke that was being writing itself out. A little brown girl in a sun dress, a japanese man in a maroon dress suit, and a biker walk into a bar. Kairi's master certainly had enough liquor stored around for this place to count as one.

Teene sighed in pleasure, cheeks flushed as she lowered the large bowl. "So, what the hell do you want, Shishi?"

Kairi frowned, glancing at Hiroto.

"Oh, that old man is fine. He'll just watch, I promise." She dismissed the graying man with a slight belch, "Isn't that right, Hiroto?"

The man twitched at the familiar name, but nodded.

"I wish you'd stop being so damn creepy, old lady." Kairi scowled at her, making Teene grin back. "This is why I never visit."

Teene pouted.

"Anyway," Kairi continued, ignoring the wounded look she gave him. "I need you to look at this. Then tell me what method of soul maiming I need to do to get rid of it."

He thrust his arm out.

"That's...!" Hiroto gasped, sitting up in alarm. Teene's frigid look made the man wince and sit back down.

"Well, what a fine mess you've gotten yourself into, Shishi." Teene said. Her expression, normally so haughty, actually turned serious as she crawled off her spot and towards him. "No wonder I accidentally chipped your bowl."

Kairi nodded, too surprised to speak.

The girl took his larger hand in both of hers. Magic entered her eyes, making the iris lighten, as she observed the stigmata. Seemingly unsatisfied, she took his hand in both of hers and began to twist it from side to side.

"...I'm truly sorry. There's nothing we can do now." Teene finally declared, gently letting go of his hand. Her true age made itself apparent as she stiffly moved to lean back into the spot she occupied previously.

"What?" Kairi exploded, slamming his hands onto the ground. It flinched away from his fists, causing him to lean over the smaller girl. "Why the hell not, Master? Everyone knows you're a goddamned monster, but you can't help me laser this goddamned ink off my hand?!"

"That stigmata has bound itself too tightly your soul. The power that granted it is beyond any mortal, Shishi. You have to complete the Heaven's Fall ritual, or take as many of your enemies as you can while you die."

Kairi cursed.

Teene silently gazed at him, letting him vent. He was about to continue, but she reached over and lightly tapped him on the head.

"Stop misbehaving. That isn't the face of someone that studied under me." She commanded, almost in a motherly tone of voice. "Who we are when we're about to face death says more about us than at any other time. Don't make me regret taking you in."

Kairi trembled in disbelief, but Hiroto interrupted him before he could retort.

"It isn't hopeless." Hiroto began, drawing Kairi's gaze. The man looked sympathetic as he continued. "You could summon a Heroic Spirit if you could get to a catalyst before Yggdramillenia's forces arrive. In fact, I came to-"

The biker's laugh was painful to hear, edged with hysteria.

"Who are you shitting, old man?" Kairi's hands tightened into fists. "Yggdramillenia spread those things to the dark corners of the world, it's impossible to find one before their forces get here!"

Hiroto didn't seem particularly moved. "Then escape them and find one. You're her student, so it should be-"

That was the last straw.

Kairi roared as he threw himself at Hiroto Tohsaka, rushing him down like a stampeding elephant.

"What." Hiroto's legs flexed beneath him.

Kairi's wild swing completely missed his stationary target. The biker's feet immediately tripped up, getting tangled on part of the rug that had suddenly bunched up.

"Are." The older man sprang up, grabbing Kairi's shoulder.

"You." Hiroto lightly tapped the back of Kairi's leg, sending the leg flying upwards. Hiroto then pulled the biker down towards the ground with surprising strength.

"Doing?" The older man asked, smashing Kairi into the ground simultaneously.

The younger man's head rang with pain as he drunkenly stared up at Hiroto in confusion and shock. Kairi's attempt at rising was easily rebuffed by the older man's single hand, which pressed him down.

It had taken less than two seconds.

"Well, so have you both cooled your heads of your ape-like aggression." Teene said, sneering at both men. "Or should I get a woman for you both to violate next?"

The biker blanched and quickly shook his head.

She'd do it in a heartbeat too, the devil.

Hiroto blushed, letting go of Kairi. "I've brought fighting into your home, Teene. My apologies." The older man reached down, offering Kairi a hand. Once both of them were up on their feet, he bowed towards Kairi.

"I'm sorry."

"I-it's fine."

Teene clapped her hands sarcastically. "Great, we've all made a new friend today. So, let's review." Her enraged gaze focused on Kairi, making him gulp. "You, are an idiot. One that I should probably mute."

She pointed over at Hiroto. "You are too old for being a hothead. If you get a heart attack and die on me, I'll make sure to bind your soul to a damn Pez dispenser for the rest of eternity." The Japanese man nervously laughed, rubbing at his arm.

Teene finally pointed at herself.

"Me, way too soft on you, Shishi." She sighed, glancing over at Hiroto. "Show him what you were here for, Hiroto."

Kairi blinked, looking over at Hiroto. The man was looking positively chipper as he reached for his right glove. Pulling it off, he revealed...

"...no way." Kairi stared at the faded Command Seal. He looked up at Hiroto in shock. "You...you beat Yggdramillenia?"

Hiroto grimaced, shaking his head. "No, I was a Master of the Heaven's Feel ritual that came before. Well, before this mockery that currently exists." He paused, lost in thought for a few moments. Taking in Kairi's confusion, he continued. "My homeland is where the One Grail was originally created. My family, along with two other families of magi, fought for it for several hundred years."

"But, what happened?"

"Yggdramillenia stole it beneath our noses." Hiroto looked disgusted at admitting it. "We were all fools. Using the technology of the Third Reich's Last Battalion, they took it and perverted it to their own ends. Even mocked us all by renaming it 'Heaven's Fall'." He looked just about ready to spit as he finished.

Kairi nodded, remembering his own history lessons. From there, Yggdramillenia had gone on to annihilate their own side before turning on the savage lands to the west. It hadn't ended well, to say the least. Now they were basically the dagger behind the rulers of Europe.

"So, what are you doing here, old timer?" Kairi asked, wanting to get it straight. He glanced over at the slip of a girl, making her glance away. And what was she up to, the last statement sounded strange.

"I'm here to offer you, one of the Masters of the Grail War, my services." Hiroto held his fingers slightly apart. "For a mild fee, I will get you to the catalyst which best fits you. Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back."

Kairi gaped.

"So, what's your life worth, stranger?" Hiroto asked with tiny smile, twisting his mustache a little.

* * *

><p>It was late in the afternoon when Kairi and Teene left her workshop. With the boundary field down, her tent was standing at the end of a dead end alley, sealed off from the auction house by a false brick wall that Clocktower had set up.<p>

Up ahead, Hiroto Tohsaka was gazing at a bronze sphere with rapture, rolling it between his hands. An umbrella rested on the crook of his arm, bouncing around with his motions. Practically acting like a cat that had gotten the canary and the creme.

"I can't believe that son of a b-"

"The price was paid. It is now set in stone." Teene responded, tone of voice cool. She glanced over at him, forcing her will on Kairi. The biker frowned back at her. "A Tohsaka will never betray you, Shishi."

"That fond of him, huh?"

"Ah, so you're jealous after all."

"Am not!"

"Perhaps giving away the Hydra was worth it." Teene giggled, malevolent glee apparent on her face.

"I-I'll pay you back, I swear I will."

"Mm." Teene kept her own council, one last enigmatic smile on her features as she turned back to her tent. Before she entered, she paused and called back. "Take care of Shishi, will you Hiroto?"

"Of course! I swear on my honor as a gentleman of the House Tohsaka." Hiroto snapped to attention. The bronze sphere was slipped into a pocket of his jacket. "I will wholeheartedly provide jolly cooperation!"

"I can't believe you can spout such nonsense after doing that." Kairi said, feeling sick. He flashed Hiroto a scowl. "What kind of gentleman does that?!"

"Now now," Hiroto wagged a finger, catching the expression. "Don't get upset. It is not up to us to question the whys of the world."

"I'm not questioning it, I'm questioning you!"

"Well, glad to see you're both going to be the best of friends." Teene laughed, entering the tent. She briefly poked her head out a few moments later. The goodwill was totally gone. "Please on off my property!"

The wind howled.

Both men screamed as they were picked up and flung away. Their figures flew over the auction site, and towards another side of the pier.

"Now I remember why I never visit!" Kairi shouted, flailing his arms uselessly. At the apex of their flight, Hiroto quickly grabbed onto Kairi, making him jerk and try to slap the old man's arm away. "The hell are you doing?!"

Hiroto let his actions answer. A cascade of colors flashed as he popped open his umbrella. Kairi blinked as magical energy flared from within, arresting their motion as they gently began to bob down towards the west.

"You...have a magical umbrella."

"Yes." Hiroto proudly smiled. "My finest work indeed."

Kairi considered, and simply acknowledged it with a nod.

'Jolly cooperation indeed.'

Okay, maybe this partnership might work out.

"So, where to first?" Kairi asked, grabbing onto Hiroto's arm to steady himself. "You said you know where a catalyst could be found, right?"

"Correct." The man adjusted his hold on the umbrella, sending them soaring to the left, just barely missing some power cords. "First, we'll have to secure ourselves a vehicle. It is on an island."

"So, we need a boat, huh?" Kairi mused. "Did you bring one with you?" He hopefully asked.

Hiroto shook his head.

"So what are we going to do?" Kairi demanded.

Hiroto simply pointed. Far below, arrayed in their individual docks, were various boats. One in particular, which was furthest from the lot, didn't seem to have anyone watching after it.

"Are you... serious?"

"That one will do." Hiroto said with a sly smile, eyes twinkling with delight. "It will be proud to serve as House Tohsaka's ship, if only briefly."

"Hah, you're pretty shady, old timer." Kairi grinned, feeling fired up. "Yeah, let's go and steal that ship, then!"

"It isn't stealing," Hiroto began, finding himself turning towards the east. "It is annex-" He cut himself off with a sharp inhalation.

"Kairi, look!"

"What-?"

Moments later, Kairi feeling his right hand throbbing in pain, hissing at the sensation. Listening to Hiroto, Kairi glanced in the same direction. A metallic juggernaut was rising from the horizon. With smoke and flame bellowing out of it, the dark airship was unlike any of the European Union's sleek ones.

It was a war machine.

"Yggdramillenia."

Both men sharply descended to the boat, Kairi assuming that the old mercenary was foregoing a gentle landing. He was completely fine with it, though. They rolled as they crashed onto the wooden deck of the boat, making a commotion.

"Move it, Shishigou-san!"

"I'm trying!"

Untangling themselves from the ropes holding the sails, both men sprang up. Hiroto quickly pointed Kairi towards the side of the boat away from the dock.

"I'll start up the engines. Hurry, you untie the boat! After you do that, I need you to find me up top!" Hiroto gave the marching orders, rushing up a set of stairs off to the side, moving upwards to where he needed to go.

Kairi ran towards the anchor.

* * *

><p>"Iiiit's time yet again, kids!" The female clown on the television cheerfully smiled at them. Various suited actors in animal costumes danced behind her, the painted background of a restaurant bright, and filled with props. Young children in the audience cheered, and their parents clapped as the redhead danced the ring she was standing in, kicking up dust. "Say it with me!"<p>

"It's...!" One of the mascots, a beaver with a toupe, bound over the counter. In its hands was a fancy looking, if plastic, looking cup.

"...Holy Grail...!" The beaver waved the cup, which thanks to CGI, began to glow with a golden sheen.

"...Time!" The animal mascots pumped their fists in the air, causing the cheers to double. Behind them, a large monitor began to lower, flickering to life as it showed an airborne view of a city. The sides were blurring as it rapidly descended, orienting itself towards a specific boat.

"With Lanru and all her pals." The clown smiled at the crowd, eyes bright as she held up the microphone. The camera focused on a pair of men scrambling along the ship. "Wow, what a weird duo! It seems that the challenger this time is Kairi Shishigou!"

A smaller image of the biker appeared to boos. The clown wagged her finger at them, lowering her microphone briefly as a skunk walked up to her. She exchanged it for a small box-like set of controls.

"Now, now, don't be mean." She pouted at them. "Kairi doesn't have many friends. In fact, Hiroto Tohsaka may be the first friend that he's made in five years!"

The crowd oohed and aaahed in sympathy.

Lanru's painted smile stretched wide across her face.

"But how long will he stay living? Will he join Kairi's ever growing list of dead friends shortly?"  
>The studio was drenched in red light. Crosshairs appeared over the monitor to whoops and shouts.<p>

"Stay tuned to find out!"

* * *

><p>In better times, Kairi had once crossed the Great Barrier Reef on water scooter - a feat that was somewhere between sledding and motorcycling, but involved a certain probability of drowning.<p>

This was like that, but not.

One, the yacht was quite a bit larger than a personal watercraft, and two, it hadn't been raining giant balls of fire the summer he spent in Australia.

The waters were choppy enough that every two or three seconds, the yacht briefly simulated the sensation of freefall as it cut forward through the bay - tossing the objects on the deck astray. Horito's umbrella danced amongst the flying debris, adding another element of chaos as it whipped the winds up in a flurry, straining the sails that had been thankfully deployed before they liberated the boat.

The older magus spun the wheel with a flourish, sending them skidding across the sea.

"You're having way too much fun with this, old timer."

Another fireball punctuated Kairi's comment, causing a spray of water to flood the surface of the deck. He threw himself to the ground, and pulled Hiroto down by the lapel a second later, when the massive windshield on the bridge exploded inwards from another near miss.

"Of course not," The graying mercenary had the good grace to look a bit a bit embarrassed, looking at him after they pulled themselves back to their feet. He quickly took control of the yacht once again. "All business, lad! Still, I'd rather not have a beauty like this get ruined..."

Kairi caught on right away.

A glance out through the shattered window on the exit of the cabin showed the airship was dangerously close to them. The behemoth was practically skimming the surface of the bay, and some measure of self preservation kept them from dipping the last few feet. Whatever cannons that war machine could afford to aim at them were going full burst. The constant volleys of fireballs barely missing them - causing pillars of water to erupt across the surface of the bay.

"We're going to need a bigger gun." He responded, turning back towards Hiroto.

"You're a necromancer, right?" Tohsaka briefly glanced over, eyes grave. "Summon up some help!"

"And do what? The spirits I know wouldn't be enough."

Hiroto reached into his jacket. The bronze sphere Teene had given the older man went flying towards Kairi.

"Then you can borrow one that can stop them."

Kairi glanced up from the sphere in his hands, startled by the man's claim. The surprise slowly turned into a confident smirk.

* * *

><p>Kairi's stepped out onto the deck of the bridge, securing the bronze sphere to his body.<p>

"Bring that back, would you?" Hiroto asked, keeping a stiff expression. It was pretty hard to miss the undercurrent of anxiety in his voice when he added an aside. "I would certainly like to avoid dropping trough, lad."

"I'll make sure the dignity of the Tohsaka lineage is preserved, old timer." Kairi plucked his sunglasses off his face, folding them and placing them inside his jacket.

Conditions outside of the cabin were harsher than expected.

The necromancer began to violently cough. He tried and failed to catch his breath, but every bit of breath was a struggle. It was like the goddamned fey were stealing his air from his lungs. The chilling wind, lapping at his hands and face, weren't helping matters.

"Careful, I'm easing the pressure." Hiroto Tohsaka's voice called out. It had an ethereal quality to it, explaining how the man had managed to communicate with him. "Take deep breaths now. Then move."

Kairi did as instructed, waited an extra moment, and then moved.

It was harder than it sounded. Hiroto hadn't told him that it'd feel like his entire body would be as heavy as lead outside. Simple locomotion was almost beyond him, requiring him to lean forwards before stepping.

The winds were playing havoc with him.

Since he was having to practically fight the wind, there were times it treacherously would give way or try and tug at him more than he expected, sending him spinning or stumbling. Kairi's only recourse was to sway his arms around rapidly to try and reorient himself, constantly shifting and fighting the winds to keep his center of gravity.

Coming up to the stairs was half the battle.

The man grunted as his pinkie smashed against the side of the railing. He ignored the throbbing, grabbing hold of it and using it to guide himself down the steps towards the bridge. Each step felt strange, a disconnect between his heavy boots clapping into the ground and utter silence to his ears.

He was almost down when he heard a strange groaning.

Followed by a flash of light.

The entire boat shook. Hiroto shouted a warning when a piece of the bridge's railing snapped off and flew towards Kairi's face. Shoving it to the back of his mind, Kairi pushed against the railing, and threw himself down.

Wood shattered above his head, raining chunks of sawdust and splinters as it punched a hole in wall, but he was too busy getting his entire body pummeled by several blows as he rolled downstairs.

"You have to move." Hiroto sounded tense, "We've sprung a leak. And we can't afford another hit."

A shaky glance to the side showed they were missing part of the bridge. Kairi briefly stared, groaning as water fell down on him. The source of the impromptu shower, a large waterspout, was vanishing.

"I'm ready." Kairi breathed, getting to his feet. His body throbbed in pain with the motion, but he ignored it. Not the best condition he could have hoped for, but he had come out of it better than he would've otherwise been.

The knot holding the treasure was released, causing it to tumble into his waiting hands. Several of the studs along the surface of the sphere began to burn into Kairi's hand. His prana began to steadily flow within the sphere.

Nature began to reassert itself as the sphere began to glow.

"Great, lad. Then roll the dice, and let it all ride." Hiroto's voice sounded strained. Not only was his mental magecraft beginning to fade, but the winds around them began to die down. The walls surrounding their ship began to collapse, unable to maintain their existence. As they fell, their assassins were revealed.

Bloodlust, and an incredible urge to kill, could be felt practically billowing out of the airship along with the smoke and flames. It was practically on top of them; the shadows it was casting would have blotted out the light if it wasn't for the shining treasure in his hands.

Kairi raised the sphere towards their approaching death.

"Final roll," Kairi said, sneering. "Calling it."

The sphere twisted in his hands, large portions of the material sliding away. Cold air, so frigid to freeze a man's blood, flowed out of the sphere and billowed outwards. Kairi lost all sensation in his hands.

Sealed within the sphere was a well preserved Hydra fetus. It's slender body was coiled around itself in death. Its dark, scaly body protected by the ravages of the world and time by a greenish-blue, crystalline material.

It was an undeniable fact that everything came with an expiration death. The soul wasn't external. This was the one thing that led to necromancers tending to lean towards the nihilistic side of philosophy, but not Kairi.

Kairi knew that life mattered, because it was not forgotten.

A being's time of death was the most profound moment of existence. Once you died, your existence, everything that made you 'you' spread far and wide, dispersing and causing ripples in existence as the soul, the essence of a being, was returned to the great Cycle.

For a normal being, this ripple quickly faded into the background noise of reality.

Beings of great power or influence, being important to existence in some way, were not so quickly snuffed out, and their memory could still be felt in the world long after their passing. It was a distorted attachment to reality, something created by others.

That's what was called Legend.

Within the hands of a Necromancer, a catalyst from the dead would allow you to manipulate the soul to your liking once the ripple was reinforced, and the only payment you had to make was to maintain it.

"Snake Eyes." A flash of green flaring from behind the corpse's closed eyes.

Kairi allowed the Hydra to rampage, losing consciousness as he allowed it to work through him to assert its will.

* * *

><p>The sea bulged, erupting in a geyser of water which halted the cannon fire of the airship. This wall was huge, large enough for multiple yachts to fit inside, and still have room for more. Yet the airship continued on its suicidal dive towards it, trying to crash through it to get at the slowly sinking vessel on the other side.<p>

The shadowy outline which appeared within the depths of the water put a stop to that.

Several scaly limbs laden with seaweed erupted from within the water. They swayed in the air for a few moments, almost like they were tasting the air, and then immediately lashed towards Yggdramillenia.

Explosive blasts and machine gun fire from the airship ripped apart the barnacle covered limbs, but two more seemed to sprout up out of nowhere.

The ends of the limbs suddenly split. Mouths filled with sharp teeth formed, emitting high pitched clicking as they slammed into the airship. Their fangs punched holes holes in the balloon keeping the airship aloft. Flames erupted out from the balloon as it was punctured, driving out the limbs attacking it, but they simply tried to wrap themselves around the balloon, spreading the flame as they squeezed.

Others slammed into the airship itself, ripping out armaments or denting the heavy armor that composed the body of the vessel.

The airship, having lost too much altitude, came to a crash in a spectacular splash of water. Several of the limbs continued to pummel the vessel, the blows echoing through the bay. Crowds of people, gathering at the edges of the piers, could only watch in amazement as the monster tore it apart.

No one noticed the small boat speeding away from the sinking yacht. Their attention was focused on the walls of collapsing water, revealing a luminiscient, squirming mass of limbs for a brief moment. It vanished before them like a dessert mirage, the eyes of anyone looking upon it hurting in that brief moment.

* * *

><p>The small building in front of them seemed like an anti-climatic end for their trip. With a laundromat to one side, and a music store to the other, Kairi glanced over at Hiroto, disbelief in his eyes.<p>

Hiroto nodded.

The necromancer grimaced, and moved towards the 'London Museum of History' with a surly step. He ignored the owl pictures stuck on the large windows on both sides of the wooden door in front of him Their declarations that 'History was a Hoot' rolled off his back.

An index finger was pulled out from one of the water proof pockets in his jacket.

"Hey, Jason, I need your help." The call was casually made, visibly surprising Hiroto when a featureless face with sunken eyes appeared in the reflection of the windows.

"Kairi...?" The man's voice was thin, almost hollow. However, more energy began to enter the man's voice as he continued. "You already did it? Damn, you are fast."

"Sorry man, I haven't been able to find Sheila yet." The necromancer sighed. He held up his Command Seals. Simultaneously, he shared a few of his surface memories. "I got dragged into some stupid shit."

"Oh, that sucks." A pause. With what sounded like great deliberation, Jason continued. "I can wait a little longer. I guess."

"Thanks. I appreciate it." Kairi flashed him a grin, gesturing at the door. "Do you think you could...?"

Jason snorted, making Hiroto stare in mild surprise.

"That's easy." There was a click, the door swinging open. "Anything else?"

"Can you check for an alarm?"

Jason's face vanished, the presence moving into the building.

"I wasn't expecting that." Hiroto piped up, drawing up to Kairi. The necromancer glanced over at the Japanese man with a raised eyebrow. "I thought for sure you would have destroyed that door."

"You sure don't hold back, do you?" Kairi asked, smirking.

"Mm."

Kairi snorted in amusement. What did the man think? The hydra had been solely a one time thing.

"Jason was a thief." The biker told his companion. "I dislike having to use brute force on everything. Unlike a certain mercenary I know."

Hiroto blinked, pretending to look around in confusion.

"It's clear. It was a cheap alarm system, but it called someone over. You guys got maybe five minutes left. Grab what you want and run, guys." Jason's voice came back. In the time he had been gone, the featureless ghost had gained sharp brown eyes and chubby cheeks. "Don't get yourself killed, Kairi. I still want to see her get hers for what she put me through, alright?"

"Please, who do you think you're talking to?"

Jason smiled with relief as he faded.

"I'll lead the way. The owner of this establishment recently bought a crate of goods at a certain auction. I don't think he had time to sort it all out, so it should still be in the back." Hiroto pushed through into the room, followed shortly by Kairi. Several small display cases were walked past, ignored by the two men as unimportant trash.

"How do you know that?" Kairi asked, a touch of suspicion in his voice. Only Teene's words were keeping it at that level.

"I sold it to him at a very reasonable price." Hiroto didn't exactly make things any easier on him when he casually responded. The foreigner seemed to have enough presence of mind to continue in an assuring voice. "The ties between my land and the Grail are still strong, even today. They grant me a certain level to predict where the next battle would happen. Ah, there we are!"

The door barring their way deeper into the shop was lightly poked by Tohsaka's umbrella. Kairi closed his eyes as a backlash of wind fluttered his bangs. Moments later, the metal door crashed into the ground, bent around the middle.

"And you said I'm the aggressive one!" Kairi complained, drawing a chuckle from Hiroto. The men strode past the door, with the necromancer hanging back when he noticed the small size of the storage room.

Hiroto closed his eyes, lightly spinning in place with a finger extended.

"There!" He stopped, pointing off to the side.

"What a reassuring way of divining the location." Kairi sarcastically stated, but was ignored as Hiroto eagerly grasped onto the top of the crate. With another surprising show of force, the older man easily ripped the top of the crate off, and lightly tossed it over to the side.

"Oh no, it wasn't divination." The Tohsaka man responded, digging into the box, grunting as he moved things around. Moments later, he grinned, pulling out a beautifully carved chest. It looked like a lot of care had gone into creating it. "This box has been in my family for ages. I can recognize it easily."

Well, that certainly looked important enough to be a catalyst.

"Is that it?" Kairi wondered.

"Heaven's no!" Hiroto laughed it off. "It's store inside. The blackhole kept it preserved all this time."

"Y-you...have a blackhole?" Kairi stared at the proud man, horror writ large on his face. "In that box?!"

Hiroto quirked his head, looking confused. "Yes, how else is it going to be able to access other universes? If you happen to know another way, my good lad, I could marry you to my granddaughter right away!" He said something utterly outrageous with a straight face, stunning Kairi.

"Pass." Kairi shook his head.

"Your loss." Hiroto undid the locks on the box, making Kairi flinch for each one undone. "Now then, give me one moment, alright?"

Then he jumped inside the trunk, his entire body vanishing into the depths of the chest. Kairi accidentally let out a yelp of concern.

"What?" Hiroto's head popped up, wildly looking around. The necromancer froze, arm still outstretched towards him. "What is it, boy?"

Kairi woodenly shook his head.

"Quite alright, then! I'll be back in a jiffy." Hiroto smiled as he acknowledged the necromancer, then stuck his head back inside. Just when Kairi was starting to grow concerned again, the man practically flew out from within the chest. A gust of wind slammed the top shut, allowing Hiroto to land on top of it.

In one arm he held a folded maroon and gold cloth, which was heavily wrinkled. Hiroto stepped off the chest, lightly landing on the ground. Unfolding the cloth, Kairi could see several small tears throughout the material, which had been mended at some point or other.

"There we go!" The older man caught onto the younger's strained look. "Really, this is it. We are finally ready." Hiroto confirmed, pushing the chest aside so Kairi could squeeze his way inside.

"I...don't see anything." Kairi's confusion caused Hiroto to sigh, reach towards the taller man's hand, and pulling him down.

"It's here, see?"

"No. I don't. You better not tell me we're going to summon the King from the Emperor's New Clothes."

"House Tohsaka does not approve of such vulgar tales. The catalyst that you shall use is mighty, and appropriate for one such as yourself."

Soon, they were squatting closer to the ground. The necromancer's eyes finally caught a chunk of gold amongst the maroon portion of the fabric.

Kairi lightly reached towards it, poking at the piece of wood that had almost blended into the rest of the carpet.

"...are you messing with me, old man?" Kairi glared over at Hiroto, sneering.

"Control yourself." Hiroto sighed, shaking his head. He gently, almost reverently, picked up the piece of wood. "This is a piece of the Round Table. Some of the greatest Heroes of the Age of Man are tied to this catalyst."

Kairi practically swayed on the spot, staring at the tiny piece of wood like it had turned into a viper.

"Yes, this was once part of something much larger. Much greater." Hiroto's eyes dimmed as he spoke. "Then it was ruined. Lost forever."

'What are you thinking, old man?' Kairi wondered, seeing the man's energy leave him for the first time. That didn't happen because of some long lost legend. That was a special kind of look. 'Or who are you thinking about.'

Kairi glanced back at the cloth, noting its heavy use in the back of his mind.

"So..." Kairi called out. "Let's call ourselves a legendary Knight."

* * *

><p>The carpet that Hiroto had brought with him pulsed with magic when Kairi activated his circuits. Lines of light began to form on the fabric, swiftly rolling across the surface.<p>

"You came prepared." Kairi mused, and getting a silent nod from Hiroto. "That's handy." He didn't say anything more.

Work that would've taken hours was done in less than a minute.

"I'm going to keep an eye out." Hiroto excused himself. He explained himself as he exited the storage room. "This is an important event. I don't want to ruin the sanctity of the ritual. "

"And we won't all fit in here."

"That too." The Tohsaka acknowledged as an aside. "Just do what feels natural. The ritual will respond to you."

Kairi blinked, turning back towards the carpet. The longer he stared, the more he became sure of the words that he had to say. It was just natural.

"Let silver and steel be the essence. Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation.  
>Let red be the color I pay tribute to..."<p>

He was halfway through the aria when he realized something.

It was hard to tell, especially when he was standing in the field of the formalcraft circle, but he could feel something channeling itself through him without his consent.

As a necromancer, that pissed him rightly the fuck off.

"Motherfucker," Kairi stopped his chanting, causing the air to freeze. The circle dimmed as Kairi threw his will behind another metaphysical blow, pushing back the influence. "I'm no one's puppet!"

A sense of confusion filled him.

He gave it another metaphysical slap. There was no possible way that the overwhelming presence really felt threatened, but it still receded, feeling like a confused puppy.

A proud laugh, full of cheer, filled the storage.

"Ah, I think you hurt her feelings." The knight guffawed, voice echoing inside his armor. Kairi took in a short figure clad in silver armor. A horned helmet, along with crimson accessories, kept the figure from looking monotonous. "Still, women shouldn't assume they can butt into the affairs of men, am I right?"

Kairi couldn't find it in him to respond.

At the moment, the knight seemed to be missing the majority of its body.

"Oh, this?" The figure asked, sounding uninterested. "Be a good summoner and finish the ritual, eh?"

Kairi weakly laughed, throwing his own magic into the ritual.

"Spirit, if your lust can be quenched by the bounty of the earth, please respond!"

The torso rose, prana gathering as it began to shape its lower extremities.

"If your goal lies in the land of the living, speak your name."

The figure in the circle paused for a moment, and then continued.

"You may call me Mordred." The spirit's form became more defined. "Son of Arthur Pendragon."

Kairi sucked in his breath. This wasn't expected at all. It was with much more care that he continued.

"Mordred, what do you seek."

"I seek the Holy Grail."

Magical energy began to peak, the last opportunity Kairi had to banish the spirit.

"Enter a contract with me, and become my guardian." The necromancer pressed forwards. It was do or die now. "By the rule of balance, I will pledge myself to help you attain your goal."

Mordred's body levitated, arms forming in a flash. He floated forwards, holding an arm out towards Kairi.

"I agree. I shall be your sword from this day forth."

"Please to be working with you." Kairi took a hold of Mordred's arm, and gave it a firm shake.

With that, their contract fully formed. Prana surged out of him, and into Mordred, finalizing the latter's tie to the mortal world again.

Then something outrageous happened.

Surprised, the necromancer stepped back, still holding onto the knight's arm. But they had...collapsed on themselves. Or so it seemed from their point of view. Mordred was practically on the tip of his toes to grasp Kairi's hand at the level they were shaking at before.

"You're short." The necromancer found himself accusing the knight, feeling confused. "Did I screw up?"

The Hero before him reared back, letting go of Kairi's hand. It was almost like Kairi's words had been a physical blow.

"Not short, compact!" The figured shouted back. "It allows me to sneak beneath my enemy's guard to strike at their vitals!"

"Oh, so you're a midget." Kairi mumbled, feeling a bit disappointed. "I guess it's true. People were shorter in the past."

"M-midget?! I am no sideshow attraction!" Mordred hissed, temperature dropping. "I am a proud Knight of Camelot, you knave!"

Hiroto Tohsaka, dragging the limp form of a guard, came back on this line. "Are you two done yet? You two can bond more when we leave...the...city?" The older man drew to a stop as he saw the necromancer and the Saber class he had summoned were waving their hands at each other, angrily shouting.

"You!" The knight, Saber, pointed towards Hiroto with desperate energy. "I ask, are you my Master? Please, please, please be my Master."

Kairi studiously ignored the two, stepping past the two of them after picking up Hiroto's tools.

"I know it'll be hard, but please try to keep up." The necromancer made a point to stretch out his longer legs as he walked away.

"G-get back here!" Saber followed after Kairi angrily. "We're not done with our conversation!"

Hiroto blinked, feeling lost. Realizing he was being left behind, he dropped the guard, and rushed after them.

"Hey! Where do you think you two are going?! Wait for me!"

* * *

><p>The blinking of helicopters shone amongst the skies, highlighted amongst the sky by the glow of industrial flood lights.<p>

Already the city was desperately trying to salvage anything they could on behalf of Yggdramillenia. Desperate attempts to appease their masters by showing that they hadn't allowed equipment to be damaged more than it had to be.

Wenches extracted several containers. Despite being made of metal, each of them had several rips throughout, which flooded out water. Worried about any potential damage, the technicians moved to open them once they were on dry land.

Several drowned corpses flopped out, the white military outfits of Yggdamillenia clinging onto their strangely svelte bodies.

* * *

><p>Several miles away, a man in rusted armor exited the bay. His hair was matted to his body, and his armor showed a few cracks on it, but his relentless pace didn't slow down.<p>

In his arms, he tightly gripped a thick cord, the line running over his shoulder and into the depths of the bay.

It tightened, and a large metal container followed him out of the bay moments later. Sparks danced across the concrete ground as the container was dragged behind the man. He briefly paused, taking in his surroundings.

Nearby, he could see a waterlogged speedboat. The soaked man narrowed his eyes, sensing the mana still clinging to the vehicle. With an application of will, the man extended his senses as far as he could.

A furnace of magical energy, steadily feed him, burst into existence within the container. Another source of power, an enemy, was steadily feeding power into another being. Both of them were quickly approaching.

A wicked smile appeared on his face.

With a thought, his faithful blade appeared at his side.


End file.
